Welcome To Vegas
by NotFlyingWithOtters
Summary: A CSI and Bones crossover. R&R please. Tell me if I should continue or not please.
1. Chapter 1

Grissom could hear the click of the camera, see the blinding white flash of the bulb, but everything else had faded into the background, just a dull rumble of voices and sounds. He was completely fixated on the body, a Caucasian man with three gunshot wounds to the lower abdomen and a long laceration to his upper thigh, severing the femoral artery. The blood pool told him that. He spotted a shiny fibre on the pale white boxer shorts and collected it quickly and efficiently. Sara came and sat next to him. She brushed his hand gently, startling him. He turned his head towards hers.

'What?' he murmured quietly.

'The feds are here.' Grissom looked up and saw two figures walking towards him. He stood up and dusted his hands off on his vest. He held it out to the man, smiling slightly.

'I'm Gil. Gil Grissom.' The man took his hand and shook it, a firm dry grip.

'And I'm Seeley. Seeley Booth.' Sara smiled at the woman and shook her hand.

'Sara Sidle.'

'Temperance Brennan.' Brennan squatted down next to the body. 'Fascinating.' She whispered, snapping a photo of the blood pool with her digital camera. Grissom kept looking at her, and Sara glowered in his direction. He caught the tail end of her glare and blushed darkly, walking over to stand by her, his fingers gently brushed the back of her hand. She looked up to him and smiled, lighting up her chocolatey brown eyes. God her loved her smile. He just wanted to kiss her right now… but people were watching and if anyone found out about them all the cases they had worked together would be thrown into doubt, every case reopened. They couldn't afford that, not now. Brennan crouched by the body, collecting stray fibres from the clothes of the body, processing quickly and efficiently. Sara walked over to her and knelt down, avoiding the congealing blood staining the concrete floor dark reddish brown. She brushed her hair out her face but it immediately bounced back into her eyes. Brennan handed her a band, smiling as she handed it over.

'Thanks.' Sara smiled, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. Sara wanted to say something, but didn't. The silence was heavy between them until Brennan finally broke it.

'I may be called Temperance Brennan, but everyone in Washington calls me Bones.' Sara looked at her.

'Bones?' Brennan smiled slightly.

'I'm a forensic anthropologist.' Sara smiled.

'Like a coroner? You and Doc Robbins would get on well.' Bones sighed and straightened, brushing the knitted cotton fabric of her trousers down with the palms of her hands. Booth walked over to them, adjusting his gun holster as he did so.

'So, Bones, ready to meet the rest of the team here in Vegas?' bones nodded, turning her back on Sara and walking towards Grissom. Sara stood and followed them, stopping a couple metres away from Grissom's side. He caught her look and walked towards her.

'Are you okay, Sara?' She shook her head slightly, running a hand down her face.

'Just… jealous I guess.' She flashed him a sheepish grin.

'Of Brennan? Would I ever like her? Sara, I love you.' She smiled and hugged him, looking quickly around before doing so. He blushed and kissed her forehead quickly.

'I love you too Grissom,' He grinned and looked down at her hands. She smirked and walked away from him, lowering her eyelids and grinning. She passed Nick and Catherine on her way out, walking straight to her car and sliding in, clutching the steering wheel. She checked her watch and smiled. As soon as the evidence had been delivered at the Police department she, and Grissom were off shift. She smiled at the thought of that. She shivered, one long motion, rolling her shoulders and her back. The car growled into life and she pulled away from the kerb, heading towards the PD.

**--**

'Warrick… do you think you could cover this for me? I've already pulled two double shifts this week.' Sara asked the tall man in front of her.

'What? Oh sure.' He muttered, concentrating solely on the cream boxer shorts.

'Thanks 'Rick, I owe you one.' Sara smiled and walked out, jangling her keys and whistling. Grissom walked past her, brushing his hand against her waist as he did so. She turned and brushed his hand.

'I'll be home soon.' He said quietly, so that she was the only person to have heard him. She smiled and walked quickly out of the smoked glass doors and into the fading sunlight.

**--**

'Bones?' Booth said to Temperance who was relaxing in a chair beside him.

'Yeah?' She replied, turning the page of her thick novel.

'What do you think of the team here in Vegas?' She looked at him over the top of her book.

'They're all right I suppose. And we're only here because that man was one of ours.' She looked back at her page, but couldn't concentrate. She looked back up at Booth who was staring at the wall. 'Are you all right?' Booth looked up, startled. He shrugged.

'I guess so. I just miss our lab…' He trailed off, staring into space again. Bones stood up, marking her place in her book.

'What do you miss about our lab?' She asked, almost inaudibly. He turned towards her.

'Just the atmosphere I guess. And what we have seems to be… less her in Vegas.' Bones laughed softly.

'Technically, we're the same people in a different place. Nothing should have changed,' She murmured, staring into space. Booth came up behind her.

'I guess… but the atmosphere here is different. We're new aren't we? No-one fits in on their first day.' Bones smiled at him.

'Well then… we should get some sleep for tomorrow.' She walked into the bathroom and closed the door, hiding Booth, and Vegas from view


	2. Chapter 2

'Morning.' Grissom rolled over and stared at Sara as she lay sleeping, chest rising and falling slowly and rhythmically. He brushed his fingers across her face, making her shiver and open her eyes. She stared into his eyes, losing herself in the pools of blue.

'Hey.' She whispered, rubbing her eyes and smiling. She manoeuvred herself closer to him, feeling his arms twining themselves around her waist. She leaned back against him, placing her hands over his and smiling. She rolled back so that she was facing him again. He placed a hand behind her head and kissed her lightly. She giggled and hugged him tightly, not wanting to break her grip. Grissom brushed some hair out of her face and saw tears in her eyes. He brushed them away with the back of his hand and held her tightly.

'What's wrong?' He asked her, smoothing her hair and cuddling her tight. She sniffed, laughing as she did so.

'Just… little things.' Grissom looked her in the eye.

'If it's making you upset, it isn't little.' Sara dried her eyes and buried her face in his chest.

'It's just… I don't know why but this feels like Romeo and Juliet. Forbidden love and all that. It's just the whole beginning quote is stuck in my head. "Star cross'd lovers" It's stupid…' Grissom held her in his arms and stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. For a while they lay together, not speaking as the sun rose higher in the sky, filtering through the curtains, lighting the room. Sara had fallen asleep again, her head on his chest. He lay with his arm around her, feeling her warm weight against his body, wrapped protectively in his encircling arms. He shifted his left wrist slightly and glanced at his watch, yawning widely as he did so. It was a little after nine. He grimaced and gently shook Sara's shoulder.

'Time to get up honey.' Sara opened her eyes and gazed at him sleepily.

'I don't want to.' Grissom brushed his hand across her face, grinning lazily.

'Neither do I… but the evidence won't process itself.' He sighed and played with her bra strap. She smirked and rolled off of him, pushing herself out of bed. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of bed, pulling him up next to her, lacing her fingers between his. He grinned and grabbed his jeans from the floor and let go of her hand, pulling them up. She turned away from him and walked towards the wardrobe; picking up a soft red tee and pulled it over her head, ruffling her already sleep-tangled hair. Her black skinny jeans were folded over the chair and she pulled them on, tightening the matching black belt as she did so. She yawned and stretched as she made her way into the bathroom.

**--**

'Bones?' Booth said quietly, shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Booth's face inches from her own. She started awake and rolled over, hiding herself from Booth's eyes.

'What time is it?' She asked, instantly snapping into professionalism. He checked his watch.

'About… half eight, the alarm didn't go off.' She jumped out of the hotel bed, grabbing her trousers and plain white blouse as she did so. She turned her back on Booth as she buttoned the blouse and pulled on her tight fitting black blazer. Booth averted his eyes as she pulled on her black trousers.

'We should go… This case is important and we can't go home until we've solved it. Working with the Vegas team is our only hope.' She said, dragging a brush through her hair. She grabbed her bag and walked quickly out of the hotel room, heels clicking as she walked into the elevator. Booth followed quickly, locking the hotel room door behind him.

** -- **

'COD was a severed femoral artery due to this laceration here.' Doctor Al Robbins pointed to a three centimetre long laceration on the inner higher thigh of the dead body laid out on the metal gurney in the autopsy room. Booth looked away as Doc Robbins sutured the Y-shaped incision on the chest back up. Grissom walked over to the bin, pulling off his pale blue apron and tossing it into the trash with his latex gloves. Bones was having an in-depth conversation with Doc Robbins about forensic anthropology. Booth cleared his throat.

'So do we have any suspects on Simon Archer's murder?' he asked Grissom as they walked down the corridor. Grissom looked at the file.

'We have the hooker that was on the CCTV in the hotel… and whoever the car was registered to that was found by the warehouse.' Booth nodded.

'I'm gonna try and find that hooker okay?' Grissom nodded, distracted as Sara walked past. 'Later.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Pwease… review? I love reading them. Love it? Hate it? I want to know, so I can get better. Reviews please. **

'Look. We know you were with this man on the 15th September this year. Just tell us what time you left him.' Booth told the scantily clad, peroxide blonde woman in front of him. She reached into her bag and idly spun a lipstick tube between her fingers.

'Why d'ya wanna know?' She said, her Hispanic descent obvious in her accent. 'Is he in trouble?' Booth sighed, not wanting to give anything away.

'He… was found dead night.' Booth told her, holding her gaze.

'Really? Wow… he had it coming.' She replied brusquely, tossing her eye wateringly bright hair over her shoulder.

'And why is that?' Booth pressed her, tossing a file onto the glass-topped table.

'Because of all the things he tried to do… I know I'm a prostitute… but some of the stuff he wanted to do shocked me.' The girl looked at the top of the table and shuddered. 'I feel dirty just thinking about it. Could I have a glass of water please?' She asked, looking up at him, her brown eyes dull.

'Sure. So what were these things?' He waved to the officer in the room with the, and the officer left, closing the door with a quiet snap behind him.

'Well.' She took a deep, shuddering breath. 'He wanted to… technically rape me. As in… take me outside and… and…' She trailed off, tears dripping slowly off her cheeks. Booth looked at her file.

'Okay. So he wanted to rape you. What else?' He asked her kindly, his change of tack putting her off.

'He… was into S&M… in a bad way. I'm not that kind of girl. Honest to God I'm not. He had all this stuff… whips, handcuffs, like police ones, and some stuff even I didn't recognise. So I ran out.' Booth nodded.

'Can anyone confirm this?' He asked her.

'I… yes… Summer. I called her just after I left.' Booth sat back, satisfied.

'Can we have Summer's number?'

--

'Made a break in the case.' Booth smiled at Bones as she read the autopsy report for the second time in ten minutes.

'Really? That's good.'

'Yeah... Grissom and… Sasha? Sara? Are tracking down Summer.' Bones looked at him and grinned. Booth looked at his shirt. No coffee. His fly. Done up. He gave her a quizzical look. She just smiled at him, her hair framing her face. He walked up to her and brushed a stray strand of hair off of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She smiled and grabbed his hand, tears in her eyes.

'Booth? I'm scared.'

--

'Summer?' Grissom pounded on the plain white front door, calling the name of the prostitute's friend. Sara was standing next to him, holding herself still, trying to control her feelings.

'Summer?' Sara called, walking around the property, away from Grissom, stopping her feelings running wild. She walked back to Grissom, the door swinging open. A slight brunette was standing on the doorstep, her jeans held up by a simple cord belt. As she watched she tugged her long shirt down to cover her midriff.

'Can I help you?' Her voice was high, girlish. How old was she?

'Yes.' Sara smiled. 'Did your friend...' She checked her notes. 'Stormy call you a couple days ago?' she asked her.

'My friend? No, you've got it wrong. Stormy's my mom.' Sara smothered her shock.

'Really? Well, would you like to come downtown with us to answer a few questions?' Summer looked scared but shut the door, locking it with a quiet click as they left. Sara kept stealing glances at the girl. 'So, Summer, what grade are you in at school then?' Sara asked her, hoping to get to the bottom of her age problem.

'What? Oh… fourth.' Fourth grade! Sara swallowed her shock. She was so young…

'Really? Got any good friends?' Summer looked at her and then smiled, showing two rows of perfectly straight teeth.

'You sure are interested huh? Mom never usually cares.' Sara thought back to her days in foster care, a sad smile forming on her lips. Grissom looked at his girlfriend and smiled, wanting nothing more than to hug her right now. She was so good with kids… but… he pushed the thought from his mind, refocusing completely on the case, face set grimly.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's been so long…. Oh wells, enjoy

'So… Summer. Did your mom call you last night, at about… ten?' Grissom asked the young girl sitting in front of him.

'I…' she looked at her converse-clad feet. 'I think she did…' She shuffled uncomfortably and crossed her legs. Her attorney shuffled his file as Grissom cleared his throat and reiterated.

'Did your mom call you last night?' He repeated forcefully.

'She did.' The girl replied, linking and unlinking her fingers.

'And what did she say?' Grissom asked her slowly, tapping gently on the tabletop.

'She told me… she said she was coming home because a client was scaring her… then she screamed and the phone went dead.' She started shaking and Grissom leaned forwards.

'Then what?'

'I got scared… so I hid and waited for mom to get home.' Summer grinned sheepishly and brushed a strand of brown hair out of her face with a slim hand.

'And what time did your mom get home?'

'I guess… midnight, a little later maybe?'

'Where was she? Did she say?'

'She didn't tell me. She just ran to the bathroom and did what she usually does…'

'And that is?'

'Took her "Morning After Pill" and drank several shots of vodka.' Summer shrugged. 'It's her usual thing to do after seeing a client.'

'You use the word client, do you know she's a prostitute?' Grissom asked interestedly, leaning forwards.

'Yes. I take calls sometimes, for her clients, bookings and stuff.' Grissom looked aghast. Summer shrugged and yawned.

'Can I go home?' Grissom nodded and walked out, completely detesting the young girls mother.

--

'Booth?' Brennan asked, running a hand through her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail.

'Brennan?' He sighed and pulled himself out of the chair, running a hand through his spiky dark hair and sighing.

'You want a coffee or something?' She asked him, standing up and stretching, tossing the file onto the table.

'Yeah, thanks Bones.' He said, genuinely touched. She smiled and stood up, reaching for the coffee pot where Greg's Hawaiian Blue coffee was just waiting to be made, to fill the whole building with rich coffee scent. She poured the thick stream of gorgeous smelling dark liquid into two coffee mugs, adding a thin, white stream of milk to it, blending it to a chocolate coloured liquid that smelled like heaven to the two overworked and overtired Washington agents. She slid the cup along the table to him and he clasped it in both hands.

'Want anything else?' she asked him, a tired smile forming on her lips.

'No… I think I'm good.' Booth sighed and took a deep draught of the coffee, shuddering as the caffeine entered his bloodstream. At that moment the power went out.

'Damn!' Booth said resigned, setting his mug back down on the table. Brennan took out her phone, the sound loud in the quiet room.

'Bones.'

'You're in lockdown. It'll take a while hang in there.' Grissom's voice crackled over the phone.

'Great, thanks.' She said, sliding it shut. 'Lockdown.' She told Booth and he groaned.

'Damn.' She nodded, agreeing with him.

'Well… I think we should get some work done I guess.' She said quietly, her voice husky. Booth nodded, smirking.

'Work huh?' She nodded, a flush creeping up her neck.

'Booth…' She whispered, stepping closer to him.

'Trust me.' His voice was low, almost to the point of inaudible. She nodded slightly, the tiny movement nearly too much for her to handle. He reached a hand behind her head and gently locked lips with her. She slipped a hand down his back and kissed him back, gently and slowly. With infinite slowness he placed a hand on her cheek, his fingers gently tracing patterns down her cheeks. She ran a hand through his hair, her fingers untangling it as he pulled the band from hers. She pressed herself closer to him, as close as she dared to, her body pressed against his. He slipped the hand holding the hair band down to her waist and supported her gently, the kiss growing deeper, more primal as every second passed. They broke apart, flushed, heart beating an irregular, racing rhythm.

'Wow…' She barely managed to get one word out. He just nodded and leant in to kiss her again


	5. Chapter 5

'That girls mom doesn't deserve her.' Grissom stated to Sara as they drove back towards his house on the outskirts of Vegas. Sara grinned and shook her head, knowing full well that the only thing she had to do was smile and nod, or occasionally mutter yes.

'Grissom… I… Don't worry.' She said suddenly, cursing herself for even saying anything.

'What Sara?'

'It's nothing. Don't worry about it.' She turned away and looked out of the window, hand unconsciously resting on her stomach. Grissom gave her a sidelong glance and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, beating out a gentle rhythm. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window, letting it soothe her feverish skin and raging headache. She sighed quietly, her breath misting up the cool window and condensing on it.

'Are you okay?' Grissom asked her quietly, placing a hand on her leg and easing his foot off the accelerator as they pulled up to his house. She nodded, the movement causing pain to flood through her brain.

'Yeah… fine…' She whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the idling engine.

'Are you sure Sara?' He asked her tenderly, placing his hand on her forehead and checking her temperature. She squirmed away from him, opening her door and getting out, her legs shaking.

'I'm sure.' She whispered, her voice failing as she felt her knees begin to crumple and crash on the concrete.

'Sara! My God, you're not okay. Come here.' He squatted down next to her and placed his hand properly on her forehead. 'Christ! You're burning up.' He took her hands and lifted her to her feet.

'No, Griss…' She protested weakly, pushing him away with the last vestiges of her failing strength.

'Sara… when did this start?' He asked her, steadying her as she made to fall to the ground.

'The headache came on maybe two hours ago…' She said sleepily, leaning against his chest, afraid she was going to fall.

'Jesus Sara, and you never thought to tell me?!' She fell against him, her eyes closing as she lost the ability to stay conscious. 'Sara? Sara!' He called, picking her up in his arms and locking her in his car, the seatbelt clicking into place.

'Just hold on Sara…'

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

'Brennan?' She said as she answered her phone with a practised flick of her wrist, placing a finger over Booth's lips.

'Bones? It's Greg. They fixed the lockdown problem, we'll have you out in a few seconds okay?'

'Sure, thanks Greg.' She folded her phone down and smoothed her hair back to its regular waves, untangling it as she did so. She glanced over at Seeley and he straightened his tie, flashing her a secret smile as he did so. She stood and brushed her top down, jerking it so that it covered the band of her trousers again. Greg came in, flushed and panting.

'I had to run all the way down before they turned off the power to check you guys were still alive… they didn't believe my phone call. They're here!' he called back and the lights suddenly flickered on around them. Greg had got his breath back by then and was kneeling on the floor, quirking an eyebrow up.

'Spill some coffee?' he asked, a bemused looked on his face. Booth and Brennan looked at each other and grinned.

'Yeah…' Brennan shrugged and knelt down to pick up the broken cup, disposing of it quickly before Greg could ask too many questions.

'Um Booth… you have a very subtle shade of lipstick on your cheek…' Greg grinned and pointed to it. Booth grabbed the mirror Brennan was offering and rubbed the pink mark, his face a deep, cherry red colour.

'Damn. Thanks Greg.' He checked himself in the mirror one more time and then sighed, handing it back to Brennan.

'And don't worry. I won't tell.' Greg grinned at him and darted out of the way of his hand as he made to slap him around the head.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

'Sara? Sara can you hear me?' Grissom said over the steady grumble of the Vauxhall engine. Her eyelids fluttered as he shifted the cold flannel on her forehead, trying to cool the raging fever. He grabbed the thermometer from the side again, not concentrating on the road. He read the LED screen and groaned, pulling an ice pack from the pile slowly depleting behind him. 105. That was very high, too high. There was something terribly wrong with Sara. He stroked her sweaty cheek and pulled back onto the road, heading towards Desert Palm, where Sara might finally be safe.

**OMG OMG OMG… SARA!!! NOOO! Have fun. :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait again! But because I'm off sick from school today, I thought I'd write another chapter or so. Have fun**

'Sara?' Grissom's frantic voice filled her mind, her slow rise to consciousness forming a myriad of colours and images that swirled through her mind, flashing and turning in a hurricane of pictures and sounds. With her return to consciousness came the pain, pain that crashed through her in waves, washing over her like a tide.

'Grissom?' Her voice was weak, little more than a cracked whisper and she didn't expect him to hear it. He was gently stroking her arm and whispering her name, his eyes on the road ahead, drinking in the information.

'We're nearly there Sara… hold on.' He muttered more to himself than to Sara, his hand moving up to stroke her hair.

'Grissom…?' She said louder, her hand grabbing his wrist.

'Sara!' He nearly sobbed with relief. 'Oh thank God Sara!'

'Where are we going?' she asked weakly, her throat dry and sore.

'Desert Palm. Sara, you're ill.' Sara nodded and smiled, the movement causing a ripple of pain to spread through her head.

'Thank you, Gil.' Grissom felt his throat close up with emotion.

'No problem babe.' He smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks slowly and landed with a gentle sound on Sara's forehead.

'Grissom?' She asked, but he didn't hear, he was too busy making the fiddly turn into the hospital car park.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

'Bones?' Booth asked slowly, staring at the ceiling as she returned with some tissues. 'I think it's getting worse…' He indicated his bloody nose and as he removed his hand a drop fell to the floor to blossom in a starburst.

'Booth!' She reprimanded him, bending down to blot at the small shape on the floor, her jacket riding up and exposing the gently tanned skin of her back.

'Sorry…' She grinned and stood again, gently dabbing at his nose with a tissue.

'I don't believe that suspect did this to you.' She said exasperatedly, pulling him down so that they were sitting across from each other in the uncomfortable chairs that were in every single room of the Vegas PD. 'Lean closer' She commanded, wiping the blood from his face tenderly with a damp tissue.

'I think it's stopped… thanks Bones.' She grinned as he said this and leaned closer, inspecting it.

'I don't.' He raised his hand and wiped the thin trickle of blood from above his lip.

'Now do you?' She grinned and nodded, her dark hair falling across her face as she stood up, gathering up all the soiled tissues. 'Bones?' He called as she went to leave.

'Yes?' He smiled at her.

'I… I… Can't get this out… sorry…' He grinned apologetically and looked at his fingers as she left, mentally cursing himself.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Sara sat next to Grissom as the staff of Desert Palm rushed around, busy with the drunks, the crack heads and the children with injuries or fevers. She laid her head against Grissom's shoulder and felt herself drift away from all the hassles of the hospital. She felt herself being shaken awake after what seemed like seconds and walked dreamily to the consulting room.

'Griss… stay here please…' she begged him, releasing her hand from his. He looked at her, mouth agape. 'Trust me.' She planted a gentle kiss on his forehead and walked into the small consulting room.

'Hello.' The doctor smiled and opened her file. 'What seems to be the problem?' Sara stared at her fingers.

'Well… I'm feverish, got a headache and I'm shaky.'

'Okay… anything else?'

'Yes. I'm pregnant.'

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Brennan awoke to a sharp click behind her. She tried to move but her hands were taped to the chair and the chair was, by the feel of it, bolted to the floor. There was a gag tied tightly around her mouth and pulling at her hair.

'Now… Temperance Brennan from Washington. You are going to die… but I'm not going to kill you… you will kill yourself.' The voice faded out and she felt a knife sever the ropes that tied her hands to the chair.

'There's one bullet. Use it wisely.' A door opened and then there was a scraping of a bolt. Brennan untied the gag and stared around the room, tears forming in her eyes. There was no way out.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

'Grissom!!' He heard Booth's voice crackle down the phone.

'Yes?' He sounded tired, withdrawn.

'Get your ass over here now. They've got Brennan.'

**Ooooh!! Another cliff-hanger? Enjoy!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A few more chapters before I give up on this story, sorry if you liked it, but reviews will keep it going *hint hint***

The words kept swirling through Booth's head; he couldn't believe he'd even said those words, made the scenario real. They have her… he felt sick as he realised just how much he cared for her, how much he needed her right now. He remembered every time he'd saved her life, but what if he couldn't this time. What if she died this time? It would be his fault for leaving her alone. He swallowed dryly, barely able to draw a breath. She was irreplaceable; the gaping maw in his heart where she should be was painful even though it existed only in his mind. He folded his phone down with a trembling hand, sliding down against the wall, ignoring all the glances he got from the staff. The package lying on the floor next to him was inconspicuously wrapped, the brown paper held together with the same shade parcel tape. He couldn't bring himself to open it. He closed his eyes, forcing the tears not to fall; he had to stay strong for her, to help find her. A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to see Grissom kneeling next to him.

'Griss… I…' He felt tears rush into his eyes and dashed them away briefly with the back of his hand. Grissom pulled the younger man to his feet, his blue eyes spying the package lying on the floor.

'It's okay. What's that?' He bent and picked up the package, snapping on his plastic gloves before turning it over in his hands.

'They… left it in our hotel room. When they…' His throat worked. 'Took her.' Grissom placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Booth. It's okay. I need to get this processed. Greg!' He called to a young CSI walking down the corridor in jeans and a tee. Greg turned on his heel and walked up to where Grissom and Booth were standing.

'Yes?'

'Process this with me. Stat. They got Brennan.' Greg blanched, running a hand through his unruly, spiky hair.

'Who are they?'

'They… I don't know… I just assumed because of this…' Booth held out a note, written in Brennan's handwriting. Grissom took it in his gloved hands.

'You touched this.'

'I did… I was scared, but I used a clear plastic freezer bag when I handled it. Now is the only time I touched it without.' Grissom nodded and walked off, Booth following him dutifully, scared for the safety of Bones.

**------X------**

Sara looked at the screen and gulped, hearing the heartbeat of her unborn child sound throughout the small room.

'Sounds healthy…' She heard the obstetrician say, feeling the gentle rub of the ultrasound scanner on her flat stomach. It was hard to believe there was a child in there. Her and Grissom's child. She froze the image and Sara squinted, trying to make sense of the jumbled black and white shapes on the screen. She couldn't see anything, but obviously the doctor could and highlighted it.

'There's the head.' Sara looked away, the sounds suddenly too loud, the lights suddenly so much brighter. The obstetrician removed the scanner from her stomach and turned the scanner off, cutting off the sound of the all-invading heartbeat. 'Are you okay?' Sara nodded, sweat coursing down her back.

'I just feel how I felt about an hour ago.' The woman nodded sympathetically and handed her a sheet of handwriting on a prescription form.

'Broad-spectrum antibiotics. It sounds like you have an infection. Get this prescription filled at the pharmacy and take two a day until it passes.' Sara nodded gratefully and left the room, the chill of finally confirming all her suspicions resting heavy on her mind.

'I'm sorry Griss.' She whispered as they filled her prescription and handed it back to her, the pills rattling in the orange bottle.

**------X------**

Brennan lay curled up on the floor, her wrists stinging from where they had been taped to the chair and she'd had to pull the tape off. She hurt all over; her ribs ached where they'd manhandled her to… where? Her head was aching; rhythmic stabbings of pain spidering across her skin like a band. She pulled her legs up underneath her and rested her head on her arms. She imagined Booth and all the memories they'd shared, specifically their first kiss, when the DA was watching. She hadn't cared about anything but him, feeling flustered afterwards, hiding the rush of emotions that the kiss had provoked. She realised as she felt tears crawl down her cheeks just how much she loved him. That was why she's taken the bullet from the gun and thrown it into some dark corner. If she killed herself, Booth would fall to pieces, break apart without her.

'Booth…' She whispered sadly, his voice echoing through her mind as she thought of him. She curled tighter into a ball, her heart breaking as she tried to push Booth from her mind. She would probably never see him again, at least whilst she was living. 'I love you… save me…' She whispered, her voice breaking as she did so.

**More? Love you ~ Erin**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wahey! I don't know why I imagine Grissom and Booth would text like chavs but there we go.**

Sara flicked her phone up and scrolled wearily through the multitude of messages from Grissom. She sighed and answered the most recent, her brow wrinkling as she read it.

Sara, get 2 lab. Process package 4 Brennan. G x

'Process package?' She muttered confusedly, her brow knitting as she thought of a reply, trying to comprehend it. Had she missed something in the three messages before? She shook her head sadly; she hadn't missed anything. But what about Brennan? Why did she have to process it? Greg, Nick, Catherine and Grissom could do it. She dialled Grissom's number quickly and placed the phone to her ear.

'Griss? Yeah I'm fine. They gave me some antibiotics, could you pick me up from here? I need a ride and I don't have any money for a cab.' She waited apprehensively for his reply, shuffling her feet slightly as the air cut through her thin black jacket and cotton tee.

'Sure. I'll be there in a minute…' She heard another voice and shrank back against the wall, unaware why she was doing it. 'Yeah. I'll meet you there, bye Nick.' She heard Grissom say hurriedly. She smiled slightly to herself and pulled her jacket tighter around her shivering form. She no longer had herself to look after, she had a child to keep safe now.

-----X-----

Grissom pulled up next to Sara and pushed the door open, inviting her into the warm leather interior.

'Thanks.' She smiled and slammed the door, locking the heat in and the cold out. He let a bashful smile cross his face and took her hand, brushing his finger over her knuckles.

'Sorry about before…' He shrugged and started the engine, the dull grumbling not quite drowning out the sound of the wailing of the ambulance sirens. 'Ecklie was walking past, and wasn't supposed to be on the phone…' Sara nodded, completely understanding and resting her head against the cool window.

'Are you okay?' He asked her, remembering before what had happened.

'Yeah… the antibiotics have a couple side affects that's all. And I…' The last words were drowned out by a roar as the engine revved louder.

'That's okay. As long as you're okay to process the package.'

'What package?'

'Oh… sorry. They got Brennan and left a package for us. Can you help me process it? We don't care about anything but getting her back.'

'They?' Sara remembered with a flush of embarrassment how mean she'd been to the young woman, how jealous she'd been. She took a deep breath in.

'The people that took her. We have a letter too, Greg and Nick are running that now, but Sara, you're my best CSI bar Catherine, who has a sick teenager to deal with, I need you to help me.' Sara nodded sadly as they turned into the car park, her heart heavy with the thought of what was to come.

-----X-----

Brennan felt tears slide down her cheeks as the time ticked by. She looked at her watch; the screen was cracked, and the time was stuck at nine fifteen. She counted her breaths, feeling that each one could be her last. She felt in her pocket, surprised to feel the reassuring weight of her phone against her hip. She fumbled for it, sliding it open. It vibrated in her hand and she looked at it.

'Battery low.' She wanted to break down and cry, but resisted the urge to, instead checked her messages. There were twenty from Booth, all in a similar vein.

Bones? Where r u? I'm sorry if I hurt you. Reply please. B x

She felt tears form in her eyes as the phone turned off.

'No!' She cried, slamming it against the floor and sobbing. There were footsteps behind her.

'Naughty naughty! No phoning!' Her phone was smashed under the heel of a man's work shoe.

'No! Please!' She cried softly, a piteous whimper escaping her chapped lips. There was a silence from above as she turned her face to see who was standing over her.

'Sorry Doctor Brennan but I can't let you have it.' She felt tape wrap tightly around her wrists and upper arms. She bit her lips as she felt it cut off the blood flow. He tied her to the chair and gagged her with a rough piece of cloth, the material chafing her cheeks and lips. The door opened, revealing the faintest sliver of light before slamming shut with a heavy clang of metal. She heard the bolt slide to with a rasping scrape and then there was silence. She was completely alone.

-----X-----

Booth threw his phone across the table, the clatter it made satisfying his rage, if only temporarily, at the person that had hurt his best friend, taken her from him. He felt a familiar rush of dread as Greg walked in holding the note.

'You can have this back, for now. Keep hold of it, we need it to stand up in court but if you want to read it… then that's okay with me.' Booth nodded thankfully and picked the note off the table with trembling hands, the plastic bag it was sealed in slick between his fingers.

_Booth, they found me and are going to take me. If you want to find me just follow the evidence. They will take me, I don't know why, but I think that you will save me Booth, because you have before. I have faith in you. _

It was Brennan's handwriting, exquisitely hers in the way it slanted, the way the tails of the Y's and F's curled. He read and reread the words on the page until they blurred together. He dropped the note on the table and rested his head on it, the coolness of it soothing his shattered nerves. The note meant nothing to anyone but him, meant everything to him. A reminder of how many times he'd got lucky, how many times he could have lost her. Maybe this was it. He closed his eyes and thought of her, how much she meant to him.

**Reviews for cookies? ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

'Grissom… I got something…' Sara said hurriedly, her voice rising as she turned towards him. He slid across the floor towards her and looked over her shoulder expectantly as she dusted the envelope gently. 'Right… here…' She muttered, circling the area with the tip of a latex covered finger and moving away as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his gloved finger.

'A fingerprint…' He breathed, collecting it quickly and efficiently, holding the plastic covered sheet in his fingers.

'Get this to the print lab. Now!' Sara jumped backwards and cannoned into Greg, sprawling on the floor.

'Sorry!!' She shook her head at Greg and grabbed his offered hand, pulling herself to her feet.

'It's fine Greg. Just send this to the print lab and hurry up about it.' Greg nodded, and, casting looks over his shoulder at her, hurried down the corridor. Sara watched the young CSI go and stopped for a second, her gaze grazing over the rest of the lab in her line of vision. She saw Greg swinging into the print lab and her eyes sought out the break lab where Booth was sitting, nursing a mug of coffee that must surely be cold by now. She chanced a glance at him and saw he was looking at her, a pained expression on his face. She peeled off her gloves and threw them in the bin, slinking out of the evidence room as quickly as she could.

'Booth.' She greeted him, busying herself at the counter where the coffee was, pouring a long stream of Greg's coffee into a red cup and smiling, breaking open the packet of biscuits on the side. She took his mug and dashed it down the sink, offering him another, which he declined, his head shaking slightly as she sat down at the table.

'Sara… please… have you got anything? I feel so useless… there's nothing I can do here and I want to help but I just can't.' He asked desperately staring at his fingers as they twined and intertwined on the cool tabletop.

'A fingerprint…' His head snapped up almost instantly.

'Whose?' He said breathlessly, his voice barely audible and cracked as he asked her; hope flaring up and immediately being quashed by his other rush of emotion.

'We don't know yet… I'm sorry Booth.' Booth dropped his head quickly, the hope fading and the light in his eyes dying. Sara reached out a hand to him, covering his fist with a soft palm. 'We'll find her Booth. I promise you that if we do nothing else, if we never crack this case, we will find her. I'll make sure of it.' A steely glint was in her eyes as she made the promise to him, squeezing his hand softly. She stood and turned to leave, draining the coffee in one long gulp, moaning softly as the lukewarm liquid travelled down her throat.

'Sara… could you… come to the autopsy room with me… I wanna know if Simon, sorry, Mr Archer can be released to his family.' Sara nodded and walked out, letting him follow her to the morgue. The stainless steel doors opened easily to her touch and he followed her in, throat working as tears formed in his eyes.

'Booth?'

'Sorry… I just wanted somewhere I could cry without anyone thinking any less of me…' Sara smiled.

'I wont tell. Nor will they… or Doc Robbins.' 'they' were the bodies in the drawers, the steel doors cold to her touch. Doc Robbins appeared from behind them, his crutch tapping on the floor as he walked towards them.

'Hey Sara… here for any reason?' He asked the tall brunette standing in front of him.

'Yeah… Booth wanted somewhere where the guys wouldn't see…' Doc Robbins nodded and walked over, clapping a hand on Booths shoulder.

'You okay?' He asked, limping away.

'Yeah… no… I feel… funny… light-headed… sick…'

'Booth!' He heard Sara's voice as he blacked out, the colours bleeding into one.

**~~~~~X~~~~~**

'Booth… are you okay?' He heard Sara's panicked voice as he struggled to wake, his eyes smarting as the light penetrated his lids.

'Yeah… Yeah I'm okay.' He struggled to sit up, whilst shrugging her hand off his shoulder. He stood up shakily, the room spinning.

'Whoa! Sit down Booth.' Doc Robbins ordered, pushing the younger man onto an empty gurney, shining a thin light into his eyes and checking pupil responses. 'Well there's no sign of concussion.' He slid the light back into his pocket. 'When sis you last eat?' He changed tack, startling Booth.

'About… Yesterday… at seven… we had an early dinner and didn't have breakfast or lunch. And how do you expect me to eat when Brennan has gone missing?' he snapped. Doc Robbins took Sara's arms and whispered quickly in her ear.

'H hasn't eaten in over 28 hours. Get him some food, use this as an excuse to get a break.' She nodded and grabbed the Washington Agent's arm.

'Come on. Dinner.'

~~~~~X~~~~~

Brennan swallowed, tears clogging her throat and the gag tight against her soft skin, rubbing away at it, causing red patches of chafed skin. She could barely breathe, barely concentrate on anything but Booth. Her mind was filled with him, and every memory was coming back.

'Save me…' She whispered, the gag making it difficult to understand


	10. Chapter 10

Booth stared listlessly at the plate in front of him, his hand clenching a thin piece of cutlery like a lifeline, holding onto it kept him safe… at least, for now anyway. He looked up, startled to see the young CSI watching him as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. Abashed, she flicked her eyes away, feeling awkward that she'd seen his turmoil; but couldn't help. He looked at the plate again, tears blurring his vision, swirling the colours into one big mess, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. He flicked his gaze back to Sara, who was staring at her fingers in a bemused fashion and running her hand over her stomach far more than was necessary.

'Sara?' He said softly, startling her.

'Yeah?' She replied just as softly, moving her hand away from her stomach and forcing a smile to her face.

'Are you okay?' He asked, pushing the food around his plate with his fork.

'Yeah… fine.' She said quickly, too quickly, she realised almost immediately.

'You sure?' Booth asked her, a penetrating gaze cutting right through her.

'No… I can't lie to anyone. But I can't say. Sorry…' She cast her eyes down to the floor and clenched her fist slightly. He smirked at her sadly and picked up a forkful of… meat? He was too preoccupied to tell.

'It's good.' He made the effort to say, swallowing slowly and looking at the young brunette opposite him.

'Don't lie Booth. You're too worried about Brennan to notice.' Catching the end of his glance, she added: 'I've been there and seen people exactly like you acting exactly the way you are now.' Booth nodded, a slightly embarrassed smile flitting across his face.

'I guess I'm not good at hiding huh?' He joked weakly.

'No… you're not. But I guess why do you need to hide it?'

'Because… I love her.' The moment he said it he realised it was true. 'I do… I love her.' He started to cry, unashamed of his feelings. 'I love Temperance Brennan. And I can't live without her. Sara… you have to find her!' Sara took his hand, holding it tightly in her own.

'I promise you now Booth. I will do everything in my power to find her. And I promise I will. I swear to you now, on my life, that I will find Temperance Brennan.' Booth looked at her and flashed her a watery smile.

'Thank you.' He whispered huskily, standing up and walking round the table to embrace her tightly. 'Thank you.'

**oOo**

Grissom grabbed the sheet off of Wendy as he walked past, reading the information in seconds.

'Damn. It's Brennan's.' He told Greg, whose face fell almost immediately.

'Damn. So what you're saying is… we're nowhere? Correct?' Grissom looked over his glasses at the over eager young CSI.

'Correct.' He sighed heavily. 'We got nothing. And time is running out; we need to find her!'

'Damn right we do!' Greg told him, clapping a hand on the older man's shoulder.

'Uh Greg… Don't do that.' Greg removed his hand quickly, as though the contact scorched him.

'Sorry Gil… Grissom.' He corrected himself as a glare came his way.

'It's okay Greg. There's a DVD in the package. Get Archie to run it. We need to find her and we have very little time to do so. Less than sixteen hours as of now. Go!' Greg hurried down the corridor and Grissom watched him go with a heavy heart.

**oOo**

Brennan coughed once, her throat completely dry as she tried to swallow, tried to moisten her aching throat a little more; but breathing hurt, and swallowing was pure agony. She shifted herself on the chair and felt it give a little, felt the bolt beneath her feet unscrew slightly. She tried to kick her high-heeled shoe off so that she had more dexterity with her foot; thankful that she hadn't worn tights. In this position it was good to be thankful for small mercies.

'Come on!' She muttered through the gag, hoping to loosen the bolt a little more and move the chair. It was a start anyway. She just hoped she'd have enough strength to ride it out.


	11. Chapter 11

Archie stared at the images on the screen, his breath catching in his throat.

'Grissom!' He shouted, his gaze never wavering from the screen. 'Get in here!' His voice crescendoed as he shouted; yet his hand remained firm on the mouse. Grissom poked his head around the door.

'Archie?' He said composedly, walking towards the young Asian as he stared, open mouthed at the screen.

'Look at this… So, I looked at the DVD and all it was was a fifteen second clip of a photo of Brennan and some writing. Now the writing told me to check your email, which I did. And then I got this…' His mouse hovered over a link embedded in the email as Grissom processed the information. After a quick glance at the supervisor, he clicked the link. 'And then this came up.' Grissom just stopped and stared.

'But that's… that's… now… and it's… Brennan…' He breathed. Archie scooted aside and Grissom barely heard him call out that he was going to get a coffee as the younger man left the AV room. Grissom peered at the screen and saw Brennan; her head tilted to one side, gagged and bound to a chair that looked like it was bolted to the floor. He saw her move slightly, twisting her head so that her pulse was even more visible. She didn't seem aware that there was a camera watching her. Grissom leaned in to the screen, squinting to make out the room. There were no distinguishing features in the room; it was in almost total darkness so he had to lean so that his nose was nearly touching the screen to make sense of the jumbled shapes. He could see the windows - boarded up and dirty; the door – metal and bolted shut; the floor – dirty and covered in a fading rug. He crooked a finger at Archie as the young man hovered by the door.

'Archie… could you… enhance this for me?' He asked softly, irrationally afraid Brennan would hear what he was saying. Archie sauntered over and, with a few quick keystrokes, blew up the image so that it filled the screen.

'What is that?' Archie breathed, drawing a square over a pattern on the door.

'That… is…' Grissom gasped and ran out of the room, followed by a confused glance from Archie.

**oOo**

Booth broke away first, looking bashfully at his feet as Sara quelled the hormone rush brought on by the contact and dropped back into her seat as Booth did the same.

'Thanks.' She said gruffly, wiping her eyes, trying to hide the tears. Booth noticed.

'Sara…?' He asked softly, looking at her.

'Yeah? I'm fine… really.' She said quickly, smiling sadly.

'You look… sad…' He ventured, placing a hand tentatively on her shoulder.

'I am sad I guess.' Booth looked at her, clearly wanting more. 'You ever had a secret… so bad that it could rip you into pieces if somebody knew it.' Booth nodded slowly, still unsure where this was heading.

'I guess so…' Sara shushed him.

'Not like being in love or anything like that, something that'll be hard to hide. Really hard to hide… and soon.' She muttered to herself, so that Booth could hardly hear.

'I… no… but I'll try to help you, every way I can.' Sara bit her lip.

'No-one can though… that's the problem.' Booth looked at her pointedly; until suddenly realisation crashed over him.

'No way.' His jaw dropped. 'No freakin way.'

'What?' She said softly. 'If you know what it is, say it. I can't live a lie any more Booth, I just can't.' Booth struggled for words, finally settling on writing it on a paper napkin between them as they sat opposite each other on the table. Sara reached for it unhappily, knowing what it would say.

'Are you pregnant?' She saw how Booth's pen had wavered as he wrote it. She folded it up and sighed, slipping it into her pocket. He was staring at her. Infinitely slowly, she inclined her head a fraction. Hearing Booth's gasp was all she needed to know. She wiped her brimming eyes again and stifled a sob.

'What do I say… congratulations?' He offered tentatively and she gave him a wan smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

'That's one way of putting it.'

'I guess.' He stared at her as she sat; head bowed, glossy hair falling over her face. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

'Whatever you need… I'm here. And when we find Brennan, she'll be here for you as well. Whenever you need us.' He said quietly.

'Thank you.' She stood and gently kissed his cheek. 'Thank you.'

**oOo**

Grissom sat at his desk, pawing through a thick leather bound book until he finally found the page he was looking for.

'Gotcha.' He muttered, a smiled lighting up his face. He hurried down to the AV lab, carrying the backbreakingly heavy book with him until he was behind Archie.

'That, is in fact, this.' He said proudly, nearly dropping the book. Archie turned his chair round and took the book onto his lap, scanning to page quickly into his brain.

'We can check that.' He nodded, already thinking of several processes he could take. Grissom backed away, leaving the young tech genius to do his job. Archie placed the book on the scanner, tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk as he waited for the image to finish downloading. Archie clicked on it as soon as it had finished streaming and highlighted the image from the video.

'Perfect match.' He whistled softly through his teeth. Grissom grinned until he saw the screen and Brennan on it. 'Are you gonna tell me where this is?' Archie suddenly asked.

'Of course, that is…'

**Review for the next bit or death!**


	12. Chapter 12

Grissom shifted the book slightly and looked Archie in the face.

'That design is on a door in the basement of the old library.'

'Isn't that a good thing?' The young Asian looked at his supervisor.

'It would be… if the library wasn't going to be demolished… today.' Archie gasped loudly.

'Today? Right now? Oh God we need to get her out of there.'

'Damn right.' Grissom replied, reaching for his pager

-

Sara sighed heavily as her pager bleeped and she instinctively reached for it. It wasn't there.

'Hey!' She said quickly as she realised Booth was twirling her pager between his fingers. He flipped it open.

'What? "Go to old library. Basement level. I'll be there. G x"' he read out, his eyebrows raising as he saw the kiss at the end.

'Booth please. Give me my pager, I need to go.'

'What about me?'

'Booth! Please let me do my job.'

'Only if I can come with you. Sara… I love her!' Sara looked him in the eyes.

'You can come. If you stay out of trouble and out of my way. Get in the car, I'll be right out.' She raised her hand to the waitress and paid her quickly, leaping up to follow him out to her car.

-

Grissom ground the gears of his car as he raced down the strip towards the old library that was scheduled for demolition, hoping against hope that he would be fast enough to save her. Greg sat tensely beside him, nursing the two metal containers full of forensics kit to be used in the field.

'Greg?'

'Yes?'

'Do you think we can save her?'

'I don't know Grissom. Honestly? I think we might but there's the chance we might not. We have to try.' Grissom looked at the younger man and smiled a little, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.

'You're pretty optimistic huh?' Greg nodded slightly and grinned sadly.

'I can only be… keeping morale up you know?' Grissom nodded, but his face was soon set in a firm line as they pulled up to the dilapidated old library. He reached for his phone and, with a few quick keystrokes, kept Nick and Warrick on high alert.

'Ready?' Grissom asked the Scandinavian descendent that was trying to remove himself from the seatbelt. After a few moments and an ungainly fall to the hard tarmac, Greg nodded the affirmative. Grissom sighed slightly and held a hand down to Greg, as he lay sprawled in a heap on the floor.

'Thanks.' Greg said gruffly, annoyed at himself and how clumsy he was. Grissom smiled and then squinted as Sara's car growled into view.

'Sara!' Grissom called, walking towards her as the car slewed to a halt. Sara's slim form leapt from the driver's side, closely followed by Booth.

'Where is she?' He spat as quickly as he could.

'I… follow me.' Grissom told the agitated man in front of him as Sara rested a hand on Booth's arm as he quivered with anger and worry. They were so close… and yet the library was scheduled for imminent demolition. Booth followed Grissom with a rather fluid stride that carried him quickly past the older, more experienced, Crime Scene Investigator. Booth flashed his badge as they reached the entrance to the site and they were quickly allowed access, bundled down towards the old library entrance steps.

'You know the way.' Greg told Grissom, who nodded and hurried down into the cool interior…

**I have no clue if there is an old library in Vegas or if it's been demolished okay? But for the purpose of this story, there is. Review if you wanna find Brennan ;p**


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This is obviously set far in the future of Bones because of the whole Booth/Brennan romance. And how everyone's taken to calling her Bones. Anyway, thought I'd mention this because my friends gave me some constructive criticism and I thought I'd stop the confusion before any arose, I also apologize for the numerous typos I make. :)

Grissom hurried down the cool corridors and several flights of stairs until they reached a door with the same embellishment as the one they'd seen in the video back at the lab. He nodded the affirmative to Booth, who nudged the condemned door open and slipped silently inside. Sara grabbed Grissom's hand and squeezed it gently, her soft pressure making him feel better – that is until a blow came from behind and knocked them both out. Meanwhile, back inside there was a short corridor, completely plunged in darkness. Booth raised his gun and felt his way down the stone sides, feeling for the next door handle. He reached the end of the corridor and his hand hit a cool wrought iron handle that stabbed his hand and make him give out an involuntary grunt of pain. The door in front of him was wooden and contrasted with the handle – he found this out by running a hand down it and getting several million splinters.

'Ouch!' He muttered, pulling out the worst of them and shoving the door open with his foot. He took a moment to take in the scene, but rushed to his co-workers side and began frantically untying her bonds. His hands eased behind her head and undid the cruel knot holding the rough gag over her mouth.

'Booth!' Her startled gasp of relief caused his emotions to bubble over and cascade around.

'Bones! Oh God I've been so worried.' He knelt, rifling in his pockets for his penknife and slit the tape holding her tightly to the cruel metal of the chair. As soon as her hands were free she wrapped her arms around Booth's neck, willing him to stand, to leave this place. He complied and lifted her from the chair, waiting until her tired leg muscles had recovered just enough to stand. She took his hand and whispered urgently in his ear, relaying a desperate message.

'Booth! We have to get out of here! It's. A. Trap.'

**oOo**

Warrick and Nick had heard the phone clatter to the floor as (unbeknownst to them) their supervisor and friend had been knocked out cold. They looked at one another before racing down the corridor in opposite directions to find Greg and Catherine respectively. Nick ran towards Catherine as she turned down the corridor and grabbed her hand.

'Cath… we need to get to the old library,' He told her softly, pulling her with a gentle tugging motion down the corridor.

'Nick… what are you talking about?' Her blue eyes were full of worry and she looked at him, staring up into his face.

'Grissom's phone has… been dropped on the floor and we can't raise him or Sara, they're at the old library and we want to see if they're okay. Archie knows where they are… come with us.'

'Us?'

'Warrick, Me, Greg and you.'

'Does it need four?'

'We'll be finding Brennan.' She looked at him and blushed, realising she'd been looking in his eyes for far too long.

'Okay.' He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle but passionate kiss on the lips. At that moment, Warrick and Greg came round the corner carrying their vests and field kits.

'Just in case…' Catherine let out a tinkling laugh and took her vest from the younger mans hands.

'Thank you.' She pulled her keys out of her pockets. 'Let's go.'

**oOo**

Booth spun around in time to see an older man lurching towards him, gun drawn and pointed at the FBI agents' chest.

'SARA! GRISSOM!' He called for them, as if expecting them to be right behind the man, the cavalry. Unsurprisingly, they weren't. Bones gripped his jacket tightly in her fists and stared with wide, frightened eyes at the man as he bore down on them.


	14. Chapter 14

Catherine screeched up to the building site that was the soon-to-be-demolished library and leapt from the car as it was still moving. Nick, Greg and Warrick ran out after her, tearing towards the entrance where Archie had stipulated as fast as they could, catching up with her as she turned the corridor that led to the others. As they raced down the stairs, their breath became short and sweat poured down their sides. It was Catherine who found them.

'They're here!' She shouted, her breath rasping as she tried to catch it and take in the scene at the same time. Sara and Grissom were lying on the floor, hands loosely clasped and no signs of a struggle. Catherine knelt by their fallen co-workers' side and pressed two fingers loosely against Sara's neck, feeling for a pulse. She felt it, weak and stringy, but there, as she moved on to Grissom Sara gave a weak cough and her eyelids flickered slightly.

'Sara?' Greg's worried voice filled her mind and Catherine saw Greg's hand slide behind her back and pull her into a sitting position.

'How's… Gil…?' Her weak voice was little more than a whisper as she tried to speak. Catherine felt for a pulse in her supervisors' neck and grinned slightly.

'He's okay.' Sara let out a soft moan of happiness.

'Oh thank God.' Catherine looked at the five people opposite her.

'Greg, Warrick – stay here and get Grissom and Sara to a hospital, Nick – with me.' She unholstered her gun and motioned for Nick to do the same, heading down the corridor to the darkness beyond.

**oOo**

Booth flung Brennan behind him in a desperate bid to save her, trying to draw his gun whilst being, irrationally, paralysed with fear. What was wrong with him? He had faced gun-wielding assailants before, but now it was an effort to even try to draw his gun. Brennan pressed herself against the wall and anticipated the gunshot that would splatter her liberally in his blood. It couldn't happen. It didn't, at least not the way she was expecting. As she watched from behind Booth, the assailant turned and shot at the doorway, it was incredible, he was ignoring them. She heard gunshots and the man lurched backward, hands scrabbling on his chest as blood stained the back of his white shirt that was now peppered with holes. Catherine stepped over the fallen man, reaching out a hand to Booth and Brennan as they cowered against the wall.

'Ready?' Then something caught Brennan's eye.

'Catherine?' She raised her arm and pointed, trembling. Catherine turned, her blonde hair flashing in a halo behind her. Her mouth moved soundlessly and she dropped to her knees, wishing Brennan had made a mistake… it couldn't be.

'No… no… No!' She screamed, scrabbling at her colleague, wishing it wasn't happening. Brennan and Booth looked on, holding each other as the pool of scarlet blood spread out underneath the still body of Nick Stokes.

**oOo**

Catherine sat, catatonic, as the ambulance screeched away, the shrill sound of the sirens splitting the night air. She could feel Sara's arm around her, hear Grissom talking to her, but everything seemed as if it were from the end of a tunnel, where no light would ever penetrate. Nick was rolling away in that ambulance, maybe never to see the sun again or feel the rain on his skin. The thoughts racing through her head were intangible, confusing. She could see, from the corner of her eye, Booth embracing Brennan as if he'd never let her go, and her clinging just as tightly to him than she could have believed possible. Catherine sat on the floor, tracing patterns on the tarmac with her finger and ignoring the tears that were slowly coursing down her cheeks.

'Cath? Coming to the hospital?'

'What?' Catherine replied, looking up at the person who had spoken. It was Greg and he reached for her hand, pulling her up until she was ready to go, ready to run to his side. He led her to his car and watched her apprehensively as they drove, casting worried looks in her direction as though she would suddenly break down. She was stronger than that. They eased up to the entrance and Catherine waited until they were perfectly parked and Greg had slipped a hand inside hers, squeezing reassuringly. They walked quickly, Greg handling all the talking.

'Nick Stokes?' He asked the orderly, chancing a glance at Catherine.

'The OR, he won't be out for a while. You can wait on the observation room.' The orderly told them, leading them to the observation room.

'Will he be okay?' Catherine asked in a strangled voice, a fresh bout of tears threatening to fall.

'We don't know yet. It's too early to tell… it was touch and go when he arrived.' Catherine dissolved into fresh tears and felt herself falling apart.

'I'm sorry…' The orderly said softly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Epilogue**

Two Weeks Later…

Grissom slumped down in his chair, facing his computer screen and sighed audibly, something was wrong… out of place. Then he noticed, and was so ashamed his observational skills had not picked it out before. Taped to his computer screen was an envelope with his name on written in Sara's sloping hand. He slowly unstuck the glue on the envelope and slipped out a glossy piece of photo paper. With trembling fingers he turned over the paper and gasped as a jumble of swirled black and white shapes suddenly joined together and collided in his brain to form a single image.

'Shit!' Slowly, he placed the photo down, and read the writing he had only just noticed on it.

WE NEED TO TALK

'No shit.' He reached in his pocket for his phone.

**oOo**

Catherine sat in the chair beside his bed, fingers softly stroking his hand. When he'd emerged from surgery, everyone thought he would die; she was the only one that believed he could survive. He was touch and go for three days after, completely comatose and dead to the world. She knew that if he hadn't woken up when he did, they would have turned off his life support and she would have lost him forever.

'Hey you.' He whispered, grimacing in pain as he woke properly.

'Hey.' She said softly, handing him an aspirin and walking out of her room. Yes, her room. When Nick had awoken he'd wanted her and no one else, wanted to be with her. So she let him – it was pretty simple really, he moved in with her until he got back on his feet and felt better. Being shot took it out of you. He'd have no permanent damage of course… but she didn't want him to leave. Ever.

'Thanks for the aspirin.'

'How are you feeling?' She asked softly, smoothing back his fringe from his forehead and kissing his cheek gently.

'Better…'

'Get up and dressed, your first day back at work today.' Catherine flashed him a rare, true smile that showed an insight to her feelings for him.

**oOo**

Booth softly smoothed Brennan's hair as she sat on her bed, looking forlornly out over Vegas. She never wanted to return, this place harboured so many bad memories for her, so many memories she'd have a hard time locking away in the far recesses of her brain until one day they resurfaced and shocked right through her, breaking down her weakened mental shields.

'I guess we should go… say goodbye and everything.' Brennan said softly, revelling in the warm touch of his hand on her.

'I guess.' Booth stood slowly and helped her up – she was still bruised from the rough treatment she'd had whilst being kidnapped. She grinned, her face still off-colour and bruised, one of her ribs cracked and a bruise spreading across her left side. He took her hand and led her outside.

'Ready for this?'

'Yes.'

**oOo**

'Sara? Explain this to me.' Grissom said down the phone.

'Um… it's an ultrasound?'

'Yours?'

'Uh, maybe?'

'Okay… it's yours. Why didn't you tell me?'

'Because I only just found out?'

'Really…?'

'Really.'

'Oh… what are we going to do?'

'What do you mean?'

'You want it?'

'Yeah I do… you okay with that?'

'I guess so. Are you coming to say goodbye to Bones and Booth?'

'Yeah sure.'

**oOo**

'Seriously, come back whenever you like.'

'I don't think so. I don't like it here, no offence to you. It's just memories you know?' Brennan told the blonde in front of her. Catherine's face fell.

'We get it.' Sara said, a smile lighting up her face briefly.

'Really? Well then… I guess this is goodbye.' Booth smirked and wrapped an arm around Brennan's waist. The entire team walked out with them, hugging them and saying their goodbyes. Sara was the last, and handed them an envelope.

'Email address for me… I'll keep you posted.' She smiled slightly and hugged them again.

'Thank you.' Brennan smiled with her and adjusted her jacket slightly so that the bandages no longer scraped against her skin and threw her back into the dark place she never wanted to be in again.

'Stay in touch, both of you.' Sara made them promise and walked back to stand with the team, gripping Grissom's hand loosely.

'We will.' Booth told them, sliding into the car and starting up, leaving the scene of so many memories.


End file.
